


Never Inconstant

by dearly



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Regency, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-24 06:36:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7497957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearly/pseuds/dearly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After turning down his proposal years earlier and regretting it ever since, Emma is once again thrown in the company of Killian Jones. A Persuasion AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Inconstant

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Captain Swan AU Week, Day 1: Crossover.
> 
> _We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days._

 

As the musicians gave a final tuning to their instruments, Emma casually glanced around at the other concert attendees. A few faces she knew or had just been acquainted with recently, most were strangers, but when she looked toward the rear of the room her eyes landed on a very familiar figure standing near the door.

_Captain Killian Jones._

He had been watching her but glanced away quickly after their eyes met. To the rest of the world his face may have lacked any distinguishable expression, but Emma, one so well attuned to his every manner of habit and who could so easily read the slightest measures of his pleasures and pain, deduced in a instant his displeasure simply by the tightening of his jaw as he focused his attention elsewhere in the room.

He was here - _in London_.

And he did not appear to be particularly pleased in discovering that she was as well. 

 

* * *

 

Her breathing quickened as she slowly turned around in the chair. Mr. Cassidy, who was sitting at her side, lightly touched her arm upon noticing the change in her demeanour.

“Are you well, Miss Swan?” he asked, his voice low and grave with concern. “You look suddenly ill.”

“Yes, yes I am quite well I assure you.” Though in truth she felt anything but.

Mr. Cassidy’s hand remained fixed so she gave a small smile of reassurance to further satisfy him of her well-being.

The concert began with a loud crash of percussion, captivating the attentions of everyone in the room and briefly Emma’s. But after the first act had ended, she braved another look back at the door only to find the Captain gone from the spot.

She was able to pay little attention to the music after this realisation. Her mind quickly filled with a flurry apprehension as to what Captain Jones might be thinking of she and Mr. Cassidy sitting together. There was already enough gossip in town about the nature of their relationship and this evening would do little to quell the rumours of their attachment.

During the intermission while everyone gathered in the Great Hall to partake in refreshment, Emma discovered that Captain Jones had not left the concert altogether but rather stood in the corner of the large room separate from his party looking severe and still avoiding her gaze.

Knowing it would only further add to the awkwardness later if she were to avoid him the remainder of the evening, Emma took a deep breath to steady her nerves and made her way over to where he stood.

He bowed his head when he was finally forced to acknowledge her presence. “Miss Swan,” he stated, devoid of any real emotion. How much of a struggle it must be for him now, concealing his feelings with such vacant coldness. For Emma knew how the deeply the Captain felt and how he lived his life – full of purpose and meaning. She had once seen the depths of his passions and openness of his heart as he declared his love for her and asked for her hand. Killian Jones was not a man who held back, who waded through life - the highs and lows - unaffected. After surviving a difficult childhood and learning to make his way in the world, he took nothing for granted.

“Captain Jones, it is good to see you again,” she said in an attempt to be cheerful. “I pray everyone back in Storybrooke is well. I do miss it so.”

He nodded sharply. “Yes. I left everyone in good health.”

He didn’t appear keen to speak with her further, but Emma pressed on, determined. “Are you enjoying the concert?”

As she spoke, Emma noticed Mr. Cassidy look over at the pair of them with a curious expression and begin to make his way over. The Captain noticed the gentleman as well and cleared his throat. “I fear my mind is too distracted at the moment to enjoy any music and I cannot stay further. I bid you goodnight, Miss Swan.”

“Is the second half not worth staying for, Captain?” she pleaded, not wanting to end the conversation on such terms.

“No. There is nothing here worth me staying for. Goodnight.”

He bowed stiffly and exited the room just as Mr. Cassidy reached her side. “Is everything alright, Miss Swan? Where has Captain Jones gone to?”

“He-He had another engagement,” she said forcing herself to swallow the disappointment. Eager to change the subject and avoid further questioning, she motioned toward the door.  “Shall we return to our seats?”

The rest of the night passed without any further interruptions, but Emma was unable to enjoy any of its pleasures. The Captain’s hurried departure had left her feeling unsettled and with a great desire to be alone.

Captain Jones despised her. He thought her attentions were now solely focused on Mr. Cassidy; he thought them _attached_.

She lay in bed feeling further regret at not being more open with the Captain about the circumstances.  She was in London as a guest. Mr. Cassidy’s presence in the city had been a surprise and not one that she entirely welcomed, but their parties were often together leaving her unable to avoid his company. Neil Cassidy was a good, honest man, but she felt no strong regard towards him, no matter how decent of a match anyone else said it would be for her.

She did not have to wait long, however, to see the Captain again as he and his brother joined their party for tea the next afternoon. A light shower of rain kept them indoors instead of partaking in their usual walk around town.

Captain Killian immediately excused himself - _still avoiding her_ \- and sat at the writing desk to compose a letter to an acquaintance in Storybrooke. The others enjoyed a lively discussion of the previous night’s concert before dispersing into small groups throughout the room. Emma joined the elder brother, Captain Liam Jones, at the window where they watched the pedestrians dash through the rain below.

“And how have you been enjoying London, Miss Swan? Have you found it diverting enough for your tastes?” he asked in his polite, friendly manner.

“It has its amusements that is true, but I find the atmosphere rather stifling. I fear I’ve grown far too used to Storybrooke with its green hills and quiet woodlands to be able to enjoy the hectic nature of the city. I do enjoy visiting my friends here and attending the concerts and having a variety of shops at my disposal, but even after being here only a short time I find I miss my family dearly.”

Her eyes flickered over to where Captain Killian was sitting. Though he was turned away from them, she noticed him stop writing with his pen raised mid-air.

Captain Liam gave a hearty laugh. “True, true. Though people can change and learn to adapt to new surroundings. Several of our acquaintances in the Navy have made new lives for themselves here in the city.”

Emma nodded. “Yes, Captain. But I know my own heart and it does not belong in this city. I could never call this place home. Home is with my family, with the people I love most.”

The Captain dipped his head in a slight bow. “I see you, Miss Swan, are steadfast in your loyalty and beliefs. That is a very noble thing indeed.”

He looked at the clock on the wall and exclaimed at the time. “Ah, I see it is time for my brother and I to take our leave of you ladies. Are you ready, Killian?”

“Just a moment.” The younger captain was busy furiously scribbling on a fresh piece of paper. While he finished, the conversation in the room turned to the party later that evening when they would all meet again for dinner and card-playing.

Captain Killian soon finished with his letter and stood hurriedly. “I’m ready, brother.” The two Jones brothers said their goodbyes and were soon departed from the room.

Emma remained at the window, her mind still mulling over her conversation, when all of a sudden the younger captain appeared once again in the room.

“I’ve forgotten my glove, pardon me.”

But as he reached down to pick up the object from the desk, Emma saw him slip a piece of paper in its place. He gave her a pointed look and then was quickly out of the room before the other ladies had even noticed his presence.

As the others continued on with their neighbourhood gossip, Emma slowly walked to the desk and gasped softly when she saw her name on the folded letter. As she unfolded the page, she realised from the uneven handwriting and the freshness of the ink that it was the page he had only just been composing - the letter written in her presence.

Her heartbeat quickened as she read.

_My dear Miss Swan,_

_I can go on in silence no longer. After hearing your words to my brother, you have given me hope. Hope that you too still may harbour feelings like those we first shared in Storybrooke many years ago. If your heart does not reside in London as you say, then perhaps you remain unattached - to this place, or to any individual in it. You piece my soul, Miss Swan. My heart belongs only to you. Still. I know I have not always been the most respectable of men, a man that your family would approve of, but don’t you see, you have helped me become the man I am now. I owe everything to you. My heart, my life. My mind has been a torment since arriving in town and thinking of you attached to another. I cannot go further without an answer. One look, one word is all I need from you tonight as to whether we will see each other again or never._

_K. J._

She collapsed into the seat with a sharp exhale that immediately sent concern around the room.

“I am fine.” She paused folding the letter quickly into her hand. “I-I just need some fresh air.”

After further assurances that she was well enough to venture out alone, Emma was quickly out the door and hurrying in the direction of the brothers’ lodgings. Soon enough she came upon them in the road.

“Miss Swan!” the elder Liam exclaimed. “How astonishing that we should meet again so soon. Are you well? You are quite flushed.”

Emma instead turned to Killian and smiled. “Quite well, thank you.”

Captain Liam looked from his brother back to Emma. “I trust Killian can escort you to your destination. I’m afraid I have urgent business to attend to and I’m already late. Excuse me.”

They barely heard Liam depart. Their eyes had not left one another’s. The activity surrounding them in the street went unnoticed.

“Which way are you headed, Captain?” she asked at last, breathlessly.

“I hardly know,” his voiced faltered as the blue eyes studied her with such intent. “Pray, Miss Swan. End my misery. Seeing you now, I…you give me hope but-”

Emma stopped him from any further worry. “Yes. My answer is yes. It always has been. I regret yielding to the doubts and persuasions of those around me years ago, but I never stopped loving you. I never doubted the man you might become even after we were separated. I do not wish to be parted from you again, Captain Jones.”

He let out a relieved sigh and, ever so slowly, lifted a hand to her cheek to smooth the strands of hair that had fallen loose in her haste. “My dear Miss Swan. _Emma_.” Her name he whispered.

They stood a few more moments in the street relishing the pure joy of the moment they had both desired for what seemed like an eternity, before Captain Jones took Emma’s hand with a tender kiss and tucked it through his arm.

“Well, then it seems I know my destination after all,” he remarked before leading her down the street. 

 

* * *

 

The party gathered that evening in the large drawing room which was bathed in soft candlelight and full of good cheer. After greeting everyone warmly as they arrived, Emma stood in the corner and smoothed the fabric of her dress. She had decided on the very one that she had worn during their first meeting in Storybrooke, not caring about its simplicity even in the midst of the fabulously adorned gowns around her. No one even noticed the dress as it was the glow on her face that was instead remarked upon by everyone in the room. She bowed at the complements but kept the reason for her renewed happiness to herself.

The Captains Jones were the last to arrive. The elder greeted everyone in the room with warmth and affection, but the younger’s eyes only sought out one individual. He stopped when he spied her, a secret smile of his own lighting upon his handsome features.

Emma’s joy radiated through her entire being as his gaze fell upon her. They met in the middle of the room, ignorant of everyone around them until greeting each other.

Mr. Cassidy was the second in the room to welcome Captain Killian and was given a hearty handshake in return. Unable to hide his surprise at the man’s reaction following the previous evening’s chilly reception, Mr. Cassidy remarked at the Captain’s genial mood.

“I am very well, thank you Mr. Cassidy. In fact, I don’t ever think I have ever been better.”

“Well, sir,” Mr. Cassidy stated while gesturing toward Emma, “then I must beg of you to join us later in the week for a ball at my father’s estate. We would be glad to have another friendly acquaintance join our party.”

Emma put up her hand to stop him. “Unfortunately, Mr. Cassidy, I’m afraid I will not be attending after all. You see I, well actually, both Captain Jones and I, are heading back home to Storybrooke.”

Killian nodded, with eyes solely for her. “ _Home_ ,” he echoed.

As Mr. Cassidy looked from one to the other, he slowly understood a deeper meaning behind their words and excused himself from their presence.

The evening passed far too quickly and soon they were forced to separate once again, but only briefly as the following morning brought Captain Killian with a carriage to take the couple away - back home and not to be parted again.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [dreamswans](http://dreamswans.tumblr.com/) on tumblr and new to the fandom. Feel free to say hi!


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